Happy New Year!

Have you ever been asked what you would do if you had one day with no restrictions? Anything you want? Well, when I saw the schedule for the Temple Square EVE celebration I knew that would be my perfect day. The only thing that wasn't perfect was that my family wasn't quite as excited as I was. The perfect day must be shared with someone who is equally as excited or it's just not as exciting. But I'm not going to trade my family in, so I guess this is as good as it gets.

We started off at the Assembly Hall for a sing-along of Broadway show tunes! That was a blast. They had some people from Hale Centre Theatre who lead it. I got the microphone on the very last song -- "Tomorrow" from Annie -- the girls were supposed to sing with me, but of course they were too bashful. I wasn't afraid to sing by myself!

Then we needed some dinner, so we went over to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and ate at the Nauvoo Cafe. Afterward, we went to the FamilySearch Center in the same building. They had all kinds of activities for the kids, and we got our family photo taken. The girls really wanted me to participate in the indexing challenge (they're up for anything where you can win a prize!), but I told them I wasn't going to index all night. I did do a few batches while Brandon helped them with a scavenger hunt. I earned a couple little prizes while working on the indexing, and the girls got some stuff for completing the scavenger hunt.

We missed a lot of really fun programs during that, but it's ok -- the girls were having a lot of fun. So, now it was time to head over to the Tabernacle for a variety show -- Marvin Goldstein, Billy Dean, Vanessa Joy (she says you have to Google her if you want to find out who she is), and Thurl Bailey. What a group, huh? Of course, Billy Dean was my favorite, and he blew me away when he sang "I Am a Child of God." It was beautiful.

We skipped the next show because we needed to get up and walk around. We went out and looked at the lights on Temple Square and the girls wanted to go back to the FamilySearch Center. The did one more activity and then we had to get back to the Tabernacle for the highlight of the evening -- The Nashville Tribute Band! Yes, I rung in the new year with my favorite group. They had Due West performing with them, David Osmond came out for a couple songs, and Dyer Highway did one song. They played right up until 11:57 and Sophie was so worried she was going to miss the fireworks. We got outside just in time to see them -- probably not the best location, but we could see them over the skyscrapers. David Osmond was right in front of us, and Tim Gates was to the right. I'm sure the other guys were probably nearby, but I didn't see them. That was the end to my perfect day. And this was the first New Year's Eve the girls stayed up all the way till midnight for.